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10 pedestrians hit by vehicles in Toronto Thursday morning

Seven were hit during rush-hour, Toronto Paramedic Services report. None of the injuries from the collisions were life-threatening.

Kim McKinnon, a spokesperson for the city’s paramedics, said she tends to see an increase in pedestrian collisions in the fall season when the days start to get shorter.
(Rene Johnston / Toronto Star file photo)

A crazy morning that sent Toronto paramedics rushing to help seven pedestrians struck by vehicles during rush-hour on Thursday, and three more by noon, has advocates saying the city isn’t doing enough to keep its streets safe.

A city official says Toronto has an ambitious road safety plan incoming this winter, but that in the meantime commuters need to be extra careful.

Dylan Reid, co-founder of Walk Toronto — an advocacy group for pedestrians — said the high number of collisions on Thursday morning demonstrates a need for more protection for those walking the streets.

He thinks the plan in place to do so should take into consideration that everyone messes up sometimes.

“The underlying issue is infrastructure, Vision Zero [a Swedish approach to traffic safety that’s been adopted in cities around the world] recognizes that drivers and pedestrians may make mistakes and tries to make sure those won’t result in death and injuries,” he said.

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Maureen Coyle, also a member of Walk Toronto, said while the city has name-dropped the Swedish framework in its incoming plan, it doesn’t have enough substance to back it up in practice.

Coyle is also frustrated when the onus gets put on pedestrians to make themselves seen on the roads.

“Observations like it’s up to pedestrians to not wear dark colours to avoid being hit by a car are demonstrated to be nonsense,” she said.

Roger Browne, manager of Toronto’s Traffic Safety Unit said the city’s ultimate goal is to reach zero fatalities on the streets.

Its incoming Road Safety Plan, aiming to reduce traffic-related deaths, is set to start up in January and run through 2021.

“For the city of Toronto this is a fundamental shift that we’re doing in terms of how we deal with road safety,” Browne said.

He said the plan aims to be strategic rather than opportunistic and that it takes a data-driven approach.

Kim McKinnon, a spokesperson for the city’s paramedics, said injuries incurred by the pedestrians who were hit Thursday morning range from minor to serious.

“Obviously, there is something about (the day), the weather and the status of the roads and people rushing that is causing these accidents,” she said.

McKinnon said paramedics tend to see an increase in pedestrians being struck in the fall, when days start to get shorter.

Toronto Police Services spokesperson Const. Clinton Stibbe confirmed there had been six pedestrian collisions and one other between 7:33 a.m. and 8:28 a.m. Thursday — though he couldn’t say for sure if the seventh was a pedestrian or a cyclist.

He said the factors involved in each case, like darkness or rain, will be considered in the reporting, which officers have seven days to the complete.

Canadian Automobile Association’s director of government and community relations Teresa Di Felice said peak rush hour happening when the sun is going up and down can be risky.

“Whether you are a driver or a pedestrian there is an opportunity to be that much more vigilant considering the day is changing out there,” she said.

Shafique Malick, a driving instructor in Toronto for more than two decades, said rush hour poses another risk as well: “Look at the timing, 7:30 to 8:30. What is in people’s minds? ‘I got to get to work’. ‘I’m late.’”

He said both drivers and pedestrians can make mistakes, and that they should be looking out for one another.

“That’s the main thing: keep your eyes moving,” he advised.

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